by kcet, los angeles. funding for this presentation is made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, and union bank. >> union bank offers unique of industries. what can we do for you?

>> and now "bbc world news." >> pakistan's worst flood in recent memory, 1500 lives lost. >> this is where the road ends. the concrete has crumbled. we can see the remains of a bridge swept away by the power of the water. >> israel decides it will cooperate with the u. n investigation on a gaza flotilla. president obama confirms, that troops will be out of iraq by the end of this month. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast on pbs in america. coming up later, >> [inaudible] >> workers on the metro are

taught how to improve their english ahead of this year's commonwealth games. the hills are alive with art as they transformed the austrian alps into a gallery. >> the scale is stunning, pakistan's worst floods in 80 years at swept away bridges and roads, adding to people's desperation. the red cross estimates 27,000 people are stranded and 2.5 million affected. more rain is forecast. this is the best area involved. -- this is the worst area.

>> crossing the raging torrent, this was the only option for some in pakistan today. a place plagued by militants in the past and terrorized by nature. this is one of the areas worst hit. that is why some are calling the flood of the century. we flew deep into the disaster zone with the army. a helicopter is the only way in. below us, and landscape turned muddy brown and community is buried. whole villages washed away. and it will take months if not years to repair.

you get a real sense of the destructive power of the monsoon rain. the concrete has crumbled as if it were paper. we can see the remains of a bridge swept away by the power of the water. this is one of 29 bridges destroyed. communities have been turned into islands and some areas cannot be reached. troops have managed to evacuate those -- close to 30,000 people. these have been menaced by the water for three days. he escaped with his baby and five other children with only the clothes they are wearing. >> it rained for three days and the water kept rising. many people drowned.

my cousin fell into the water. we have not been able to find him. >> at a temporary camp, we met a homeless mother of three alive because she can swim. >> when the water came into the house we went out with the children. then the water was up to our next. we did not care about our lives, we just wanted to save the children. >> some could barely make it to a helicopter. once on board, there was obvious relief. another worry hangs over this valley. the risk that the taliban might try to use this moment to make a comeback.

>> we will have more on the floods later in the program. david has been investigating what is causing rains to be so heavy. the israeli government has declared it will participate in the un is investigating the killing of israeli commanders of turkish activists. the plan was announced by the un secretary general. >> the deaths of nine activists when israeli commanders stormed their ship led to widespread protests around the world. israel said activists were committed to confrontation and soldiers acted in self-defense. turkey described the killings at -- as the state sponsored terrorism.

israel's view was sufficient to implicate a community. observers say the decision to cooperate is a significant change of strategy. the israeli prime minister said his country had nothing to hide and it was in israel's interest to tell the truth. having decided not to cooperate with u.n. investigations in the decision has been welcomed. >> i hope that this will [unintelligible] to the peace process as well as improvement of relationships between israel and turkey. >> that is the israeli view now.

the international panel is expected to begin gathering evidence next week. >> a rocket attack aimed at southern israel has strayed off target killing a taxi driver. officials say the rockets were fired from the sinai desert of egypt. one rocket hit a nearby jordanian port and four were wounded. -- denies the rockets were launched from its territory. a russian airliner crashed in siberia killing 15. a spokeswoman says the plane came down as it approached the airport. a u.s. court has convicted a two men of plotting to cause explosions at jfk airport.

they were found guilty of conspiring to blow up buildings to avenge what they see as american oppression of muslims. president obama confirmed all american troops will be withdrawn from iraq by the end of this month. the commitment to iraq was changing to a civilian effort. our washington correspondent reports. >> the president of the nine it states. >> he did not land on an aircraft carrier like president bush, there is no victory sign, but this is the obama version. >> i announced our new strategy for iraq and a transition to full i iraqi responsibility. i made it clear that by august 31, 2010 america's combat

mission in iraq would end. that is what we are doing as promised. >> when president obama took office america had 144,000 troops in iraq. by may, 80,000 soldiers remained. by the end of this month only 50,000 soldiers will stay to advise iraqi forces. by the end of 2011 he promises all u.s. soldiers will be gone. >> the decision is a reasonable, although it is a matter of taking risks. the idea of going to the zero strikes me as diplomatic. i iraqi politics are deeply unsettled. >> there was a reminder of the violence the country still faces. a roadside bomb killed three

civilians. last week these car bomb attacks killed 25 pilgrims. i iraqi officials said july was the deadliest month for two years. know people still don't the identity of their next government almost five months after elections were held. the war has lasted almost twice as long as world war ii. that ended with a clear victory. the war in iraq will end with a withdrawal. iraq is not safe, stable, but america has had enough. >> at least 50 people are feared dead in new gun know where a boat capsized. -- feared dead in uganda.

police say only 17 survivors and five bodies have been recovered. one of the world's biggest banks this announcing pre-tax profits of $11 billion this year. that is more than doubled for this time last year. money set aside to cover losses fell to its lowest level since the start of the financial crisis. the company that makes the black. says it will not compromise their security -- that makes the blackberrry. there has been an appeal for calm in kashmir as the worst anti-government protests go on. they are urging people not to use violence.

four people have been shot dead and 31 have been killed. >> the streets are once again simmering with unrest. mushrooms have defied a curfew to protest against -- muslims have defied a curfew. government forces responded with live ammunition and tear gas. protesters burned government buildings, security posts and police stations. the top official has been defending security forces. >> [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] >> but every funeral of every

protestor killed fuels' more local anchor. the unrest was triggered seven weeks ago when a student was killed by a tear-gas shell. divided between india and pakistan, this region has long been crucial for conflict. tensions between the countries are rising and there are fears for the future of the peace process. >> still to come, stay with us if you can. a state of emergency has been declared in seven russian regions for wild fires that killed 30 people. a book dealer who tried to sell a stolen copy of the complete works of shakespeare has been jailed for eight years. he tried to live the life of an international playboy, but lived

on benefits at home with his mother. >> raymund scott presented himself as an international playboy. he wore designer clothes and a riot in a stretch limousine with champagne and cigars. >> he actually lived with his mother who claimed benefits. he was soberly dressed and he was found guilty of [unintelligible] worth millions and -- it went missing for a decade before it turned up with scott and america. the judge said he tried to stoll book.he -- steeal the

the judge said he [unintelligible] in order to get rich. that was complicated by the fact that he tried to sell an english treasurer of bratt. >> he is a petty criminal -- and english treasurer abroad. >> he took it to a level of criminality out of his death. -- out of his depth. >> raymund scott has found himself a tragic figure, since to eight years in prison. -- sentenced to eight years. >> aid agencies in pakistan are estimating the 2.5 million people have been affected by the

monsoon floods. israel declared it will cooperate with the un investigation when israeli commanders killed nine turkish activists. he might think the floods in pakistan look bad, but the worst news is there is more monsoon rain to come. our correspondent has been examining what is causing this rainfall. >> they fence became a lifeline. two men clinging on as the waters surged around them. this was when the floods first struck last thursday. a bridge over won't. this -- a bridge overwhelmed. hundreds of people used the higher ground of a road to seek shelter.- seek

>> it has devastated most of [inaudible] >> they munson that hit pakistan is part of a regular pattern of whether. the indian subcontinent heats up every summer and it draws moisture from the sea. when they reached pakistan last month they were devastating. in the northwest, the record rainfall was set in 1956, at 212 millimeters. compare that to last thursday, 312 millimeters in a single day. the flood waters are heading downstream, threatening new areas and more rains are set to fall. satellite pictures showed another formation is on its way.

a lull in the storm will soon be followed by heavy rain. >> those storms will identify further -- will intensify further. all that will hinder what is happening. >> the challenge is getting aid to those who need it fast. 34 people are known who have died in the wild fires sweeping areas of the country. the fires have destroyed entire villages, leaving thousands homeless. there were sparked by a record- breaking heat wave. >> the start of the working week and the russian capital shrouded in fires.

officials here responsible for the fire fighting operations see no end in sight. >> taking into account the weather forecasts, we have nothing good to wait for. to the south and east of moscow, he battle continues to bring the fires under control. despite the heat wave, but portis are having some success. for thousands of people, it is already too late. all they can do now is salvage the remaining possessions. this villager says she has not received any help from the government despite being promised money to rebuild homes.

on sunday, the head of the russian church told people in one of the worst affected areas they should pray for rain. a sign there is little belief authorities can bring the situation under control. >> delhi is preparing for hits biggest event in recent years. thousands of visitors are expected for the commonwealth games. local people have put up with years of new building projects. transport workers are also being put through their paces. they are being asked to improve their language skills. there are linguistic efforts being made on the metro. >> the dulles metro is the pride of the capital. -- the metro is the pride of the

capital. staff is being trained in a new skill, the ability to speak proper english. >> [unintelligible] [unintelligible] [unintelligible] >> [inaudible] >> even before they are sent into the field, this is where the metro employees are trained. this is one of the many classrooms. students are all in their 20's. many of them have come here after [inaudible] [inaudible]

this class is on spoken in less -- spoken english. a lot of emphasis being placed on accent and the use of body language and communicating. many of these students are not native speakers of english. >> [inaudible] [inaudible] >> [inaudible] [inaudible] >> they come from states like [unintelligible] they have got very strong [unintelligible] [unintelligible] we have to reduce jerez accent.

after neutralizing their accent we have to give them british accents. >> [inaudible] >> anyone going for a hike in the austrian alps may find unexpected company in the hills. >> man and the mountains. this sculpture stands near the ski runs. it is one of 100 figures brought here by the artist. he has displayed similar works in london and new york, but this is the wildest setting yet. britney have a body is more than 2,000 meters above sea level is a -- bringing the bodies. from up on high you can see some

of the figure is dotted over the alpine landscape. over the next couple of years they will be exposed to the elements. he says the figures represent places where human beings have been and where they may be in the future. >> the world [unintelligible] we are in it. what is our place in it? canyon in futures and the future of the plan at work together -- can human futures? it is the most wonderful impressive, powerful landscape. every season this looks different. that whole idea of engaging in the changing conditions of this landscape, i could not have a match and a better place for it >> hikers and skiers will have the chance to come face-to-face

with the sculptures. >> [unintelligible] int he met this and this great landscape -- and -- in the meadows. they are our size and we are also smaller than this beautiful nature. >> figures gaze out over the mountain peaks, a reminder of our fragile place in nature. >> just briefly, a reminder of the main stories. the red cross says 2.5 million people in pakistan have been affected by the worst flooding in a generation. our correspondent said she saw people being whisked to safety.

you can find us online. thanks for being with us on "bbc world news." >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold. video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, and union bank.

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